Sen. Cramer Co-Sponsors Bill to Ensure Abortion Data Is Reported Accurately

Statement

On Susan B. Anthony's birthday, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) announced he is a co-sponsor of Senator Joni Ernst's (R-IA) Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Reporting Data Act, legislation to require states to report accurate and complete data about abortion, including cases where babies are born alive during abortions.

"The right to life is our most precious and fundamental right. However, some states don't require a complete report of abortion numbers. This transparent and commonsense legislation ensures no life ended by abortion is ever hidden," said Senator Cramer.

"Every single life is precious. Yet right now, only a handful of states record abortion data in a comprehensive and verifiably accurate way, including tragic cases where babies are born alive during abortions. This straightforward effort will require states to report abortion data accurately and completely, ensuring that no life is ever ignored, hidden, or forgotten," said Senator Ernst.

Currently, states submit abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voluntarily. The Ensuring Accurate and Complete Abortion Reporting Data Act requires states to report cases where babies are born alive during abortions. At present, only a handful of states record these cases.

"The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has long acknowledged that national statistics on abortion are lacking. Abortion data reporting is completely optional on the part of states, resulting in a patchwork of incomplete, outdated, and sometimes entirely missing information. Senator Ernst's Ensuring Accurate & Complete Abortion Data Reporting Act of 2022 creates a new funding incentive for states to participate and requires states to report babies born alive. Americans across the ideological spectrum agree that researchers, policymakers, and taxpayers deserve better data on this important topic," said SBA List VP of Government Affairs, Hon. Marilyn Musgrave.

"Abortion reporting data is woefully inadequate because states like California refuse to collect any data, let alone share it with the public. This bill will help lawmakers enact good policy and ensure that women are empowered to understand the realities of abortion, including that later in pregnancy, babies can be born-alive. Women deserve this critical information as a matter of justice and certainly in order to give informed consent," said Catherine Glenn Foster, President & CEO, Americans United for Life.

Senators Cramer and Ernst are joined on the bill by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Braun (R-IN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), John Boozman (R-AR), Rick Scott (R-FL), Roger Marshall (R-KS), John Thune (R-SD), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Tim Scott (R-SC).

Background:

Last month, Senator Cramer received an A+ rating from the Susan B. Anthony List for his strong legislative record supporting pro-life measures.

Additionally, Senator Cramer joined Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and over 200 members of Congress in filing an amicus brief supporting the State of Mississippi in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Mississippi's law protecting life.

In the 117th Congress, Senator Cramer has co-sponsored several pro-life bills including legislation to ban abortion after 20 weeks of fertilization, protect unborn babies with Down syndrome, and give states the authority to exclude abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds. He has also pledged to vote against any bill that would undermine the Hyde Amendment, which is a legislative provision barring the use of federal funds to pay for abortion or any other abortion-related activities.

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